Red Sun
by The Phrenologikal Cat
Summary: [ONESHOT] A crimson sun burns up the desert, a curse from venomous snakes.  And in the cold, stinking dark of the Claw Viper Temple, the bones crumble and his dying scream echoes... [T for slight language.]


_I should I just get along with myself. I never did get along with everybody else. I've been trying hard to do what's right, but you know I could stay here all night and watch the clouds fall from the sky. This river is wild... -- **This River Is Wild **- The Killers_

The sun burned. Intense, beating down on the cracked earth, the shifting sands and smooth, white rocks. A scorpion scuttled over the ground, its hard black shell gleaming in the sunlight. Its tail rattled with fierceness, claws clicking. It darted away, escaping from the encroaching shadow. Just in time, it slipped away from the plate-armoured foot that came crashing down.

"I thought I was supposed to be the one obsessed with death." The pale-skinned man drawled, watching his companion.

"Vermin." The Paladin snarled in return. Whether this was directed towards the Necromancer or the scorpion was left unestablished. Most likely both.

Their companionship was an odd one, formed out of convenience. An uneasy truce of mutual distrust, burgeoning on hatred. But there wasn't enough care for _actual_ hatred. No, distrust aplenty, but no outright hatred. The Necromancer smiled, the expression twisting into a leer on his pointed, pale face. He reminded one of a rat, with lank, white hair and twitchy eyes. He was not an evil man, merely unpleasant. A bastard by nature, _not_ by trade. Then again, his dark-skinned partner was no rainbows and lollipops either.

"In any case, come away from your little game. I found the entrance." The Necromancer drawled, his voice rolling over each sound. The words bumped into each other, and it took some work to figure out where one ended and the other began. The Paladin darkly suspected that a lot of this was put on to make things difficult between them.

"So, the rat is good for something." He rumbled, nodding to signal that the Necromancer should lead the way.

"Very good, sir." The pale man flashed a leering grin, the sight of his slightly-rotted teeth churning the Paladin's stomach. Some of the teeth were quite as black as the Paladin's skin, which is what a diet of beer and ritual meals would give you.

They travelled silently together, the clatter of bone warriors the only thing keeping the group from total silence. Enemies that had fallen beneath the mindless hacking of the skeletons lay bleeding before them, like a trail. Better than breadcrumbs. But it seemed the Necromancer had been successful on something at last. Sure enough, the wide desert narrowed into towering stone walls, shadowing the pass. The entrance to the Valley of Snakes. It certainly smelt like a valley of snakes, reeking of rotting skin and half-eaten meals. Not to mention the tangy smell of snake piss. The Paladin grunted, drawing the long blade and fixing the straps on his shield.

It would not do to enter the Valley unprepared.

They moved through the pass, uneasy. It had tight, shadowed twists, and it was impossible to tell what could be waiting around the corner. In all cases, there was only empty space. But this only caused the travellers even greater unease.

"You are certain this is the pass to the Valley of Snakes?" The Paladin snarled, rattled by the emptiness. The skeletons shifted, noting the aggression directed towards their master. The Necromancer held up a commanding hand, calming them. He looked darkly at the Paladin, but kept his eternal leer.

"Yes, sir. There are no other passes of this description, are there?" Despite his words, the pale man held notes of deep uncertainty in his voice. The Paladin noted it, peering at the shadows from beneath his dulled, silver full helm.

"I see something." He announced at last, squinting down the widening passage. Sure enough, there was something. A glimmer of sunlight on golden sands. They slowed, creeping up. The passage widened out, and before they even met the end they saw it. The Valley of Snakes, opening up to the crimson-stained sky. Skeletons of rats and snakes littered the sands, half-buried. Carvings of twisted snake lords reared up, carved into the rock walls. In the centre of the Valley was a temple. The building was tiny, but the travellers knew it lay mostly underground.

The Valley was also dead quiet. Nothing stirred, so completely empty. The two moved into the Valley, nervous. There should have been at least a few Viper creatures. But apart from the lonely presence of the skeletons, the Valley was void. The Paladin moved forward slowly towards the temple, waiting for some sort of ambush at any moment. But there was nothing. He stood in the shade of the temple, peering down the steps into the dark, stinking abyss. Something rattled behind him. Skeletons, marking the presence of his partner.

"We go down." The Paladin commanded with the sort of confidence that his orders would be followed to the letter that usually prompted people to follow his orders to the letter. Rather than this, however, the Necromancer argued.

"Something is wrong!" His usual drawl was replaced by an anxious hiss.

"I know!" The Paladin snapped back, taking the first few steps. "But we still go down!"

Reluctantly, the Necromancer followed.

The Claw Viper Temple stank. It was impossible to see two inches in front of their face as well, due to the lack of lighting. The Vipers had a strong aversion to light, which was the cause of the entire quest in any case. The curse on the sun. But the darkness would make it difficult, if not impossible, to survive any fight. But such worries seemed without foundation, for they were not attacked. Which, really, was much worse. Forging a makeshift torch, the two men and their small skeleton army moved through the first, empty level of the Claw Viper Temple, unnerved by the emptiness. No corpses, no ornaments, no life.

They paused before further steps leading down, straining for any sounds of life. For any sort of noise. None came to them, so with an exchange of hesitant glances the two continued. Their footsteps echoed in the empty temple, growing louder as they descended. Holding the torch high, when they reached the foot of the steps the lower level of the temple proved to be as eerily empty as the first. The altar glittered with artificial light, the dull stone pendant lit up. A short glance about the large, empty hall was quickly followed by the Paladin hurrying over to the altar.

The Necromancer kept by the steps, looking very, very worried. His skeletons stirred unnoticed, hearing something in dimensions no mortal could access. The artificial soul that burned in their eyes flashed, burned, died, and they crumbled into dust. The pale man saw _this_, and yelped, back up the steps.

Shadows flicked from the top of the steps. Hisses. Things that had been nothing more than shadows and statues in the large hall came to life, their eyes opening to reveal venomous, glittering gold, alight with hatred. The Vipers advanced, their skulls spitting out curses and insults in their own language. The Paladin stopped, stricken. The creatures poured in from the stairs, the Necromancer shrinking into the wall left unnoticed. Hundreds had hidden themselves in the hall, and still more streamed in from the upper levels. Thousands, too many to logically fit in the hall, crowded about, hissing, their long claws outstretched.

Running footsteps broke the crescendo of hisses and the sound of slithering. The Paladin jerked his head up in time to see the Necromancer fleeing up the steps against tides of Claw Vipers.

"You bastard!" He screamed, backing into the altar to escape from the claws. "You coward!"

"Oh yes sir." The Necromancer called back with sick amusement. "Always."

The Paladin turned stricken back to the writhing army around him. His arm trembled, and in his hand the torch flickered.

And went out.


End file.
